From April 8-10, 2025, the partners of the ERASMUS-funded FOUNTAIN (Fostering Sustainable University-Industry Techno-Entrepreneurial Collaborations and Innovations in Asian Universities) Project held their consortium meeting at VilniusTECH, Lithuania. The meeting program was full of events.

On the first day, the project participants met at the VilniusTECH university premises.

Project leader Prof. Dr. Artūras Kaklauskas from Lithuania welcomed all project participants to the VilniusTECH meeting. He also made a presentation on a topic relevant to the project. A few partners from different industries made their presentations as well. Dr. Gediminas Račiukaitis, Head of the FTMC Department of Laser  Technologies and President of the Lithuanian Laser Association gave a lecture on topic: „Laser Ecosystem in Lithuania“. Karolis Mirinavičius, Head of Innovation Development at Ignitis Group, talked about the Lithuanian energy sector.

After the meeting at VilniusTECH, all participants were invited to an excursion to the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant (Vilnius CHP), organized by Ignitis Group.

The second day of the project meeting was dedicated to company tours. Participants visited VITP technology park and LTG Group. At LTG Group, Business and technology development director Vytautas Bitinas, made a presentation on “Conversion and optimization of territories”.

The third day of the project meeting was dedicated to walking tour in the city and company tour.

Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LNTPA) arranged a tour to high tech office building Artery.

More information about FOUNTAIN project.

FOUNTAIN (Fostering sustainable university-industry techno-entrepreneurial collaborations and innovations in Asian universities) led by the University of Ruhuna, cofounded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union, started on July 1, 2023. The FOUNTAIN project is a consortium from different partner countries. VilniusTech is one of the partners of this project. Project manager Prof. Dr. Artūras Kaklauskas is the head of the Department of Construction Management and Real Estate. For more information about VilniusTech team on this project find HERE. 

The FOUNTAIN Project will address the lack of strategic university-industry partnerships in Asian universities in terms of student employability, blended learning, invention and innovation, techno-entrepreneurial skills, curriculum development, multidisciplinary joint research, and many other aspects. Through need assessments conducted with partners in Thailand and Sri Lanka, FOUNTAIN identifies gaps in university-industry collaboration, aiming to align industrial interests with public interests, particularly in agro-industries. Its objectives include enhancing university curricula with robust industrial training programs, strengthening university-business links, and establishing a community of practice involving university and industry actors in the field of agro-industries. Additionally, the project seeks to facilitate the transition of ideas into practice, promote business start-ups, and establish a center of excellence in invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship to meet the needs of graduates, academics, farmers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and other industries in the country and the region.

The FOUNTAIN Project boasts an impressive list of partnering organizations, including the University of Ruhuna, University of Peradeniya, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Horizon College of Business & Technology, Naresuan University (Thailand), Chiang Mai University (Thailand), Tallinna Tehnikaülikool (Estonia) and Mid Sweden University (Sweden).
More information is HERE.